Chapter Seven

Arnav was sitting on his bed, resting his chin on his folded hands. He couldn’t stop thinking about how Khushi had reacted from him just shaking her shoulders. The image of her shaking and shuddering was haunting his mind.

What happened to her, he wondered. She was fine earlier this evening. In fact… she looked beautiful. She… I don’t think I’ve ever seen nor met anyone as beautiful as her.

“Bhai?”

Arnav snapped out of thought and looked up to see Avantika at the door. She walked in and shut the door behind her, then went over to Arnav and sat down beside him.

“How’s Khushi,” Arnav asked, his voice low.

“Di managed to help her fall asleep. She kept refusing to fall asleep, but Di convinced her that there was nothing to be afraid of.”

Arnav remembered how his Di kept soothing Khushi. Remembering how scared Khushi was made him angry and wonder what happened to her.

Arnav stood up. “What the hell happened while I went away? Why isn’t Khushi talking to me? And where’s Kaka, Kaki, and Buaji? Why is Khushi all alone here and how come they’re not here.”

Avantika gulped. “I’ll tell you everything from the start-”

“Well tell me!”

Avantika looked down. “After you left, everyone noticed how Khushi had become... gloomy. We all thought that it was because you left, you being her best friend and all. But as the months passed, her mood didn’t change. She was upset, and although she tried to play it off, her eyes always betrayed her. The way her eyes looked… it was as if her heart was broken.

“More time went on and you called home for the first time. Khushi wanted to talk to you, but you didn’t have time to talk. I guess she took it personally, even though Di tried to explain it wasn’t so. She tried to call you, saying that she had something urgent to talk to you about, but you never picked up her call. Papa said he’d try and when he called, you picked up. It made Khushi angry and she decided that she wouldn’t talk to you. After that we didn’t see her the rest of the day. Later on we realized that she was… missing.”

Arnav’s eyes widened. “Missing?”

Avantika nodded. “Everyone got really worried then. Papa called the police and they said they’d go out to look for her. Kaka was impatient and wanted to go out and look for her himself. Papa and Ma tried to reason with him, but he simply refused and ran out. Kaki was very worried and she couldn’t help herself and ran after him. We tried to stop her, but she already ran out and was with Kaka. He told her to go back, but she refused to. In the end, both went…”

"What happened next?"

"Somehow, Kaka and Kaki went to that rundown factory. The one down by the bay? When they got there, they heard Khushi screaming. They ran towards her voice and when they saw her...."

"What?"

"A... a guy..."

Arnav's eyes widened.

Avantika took a deep breath and released it. "A guy had torn up Khushi's clothes and was trying to force himself on her."

Arnav shut his eyes and turned away. He clenched his teeth and fists, trying to control his anger.

"What happened," Arnav growled, opening his eyes.

"Kaka fought the guy off and his men attacked. Kaki went running to Khushi to protect her. They saw Kaka fight that guy and his men but Kaka wasn't strong enough...."

Arnav had a feeling he knew where this was going.

"One of the men had a really big knife, almost like a sword... and he... he-" Avantika's voice cracked. "He stabbed it right through Kaka."

Arnav shut his eyes and clenched his fists tighter, tears forming in his eyes.

"Both Khushi and Kaki screamed and Kaki went running towards Kaka.... And they- they shot her," Avantika cried.

Arnav opened his eyes and the tears streamed down. He turned back towards Avantika and looked at her in disbelief.

"Right after they did that, the guy tried to attack Khushi again. Khushi was screaming and crying, looking at her parents' dead bodies in a pool of blood.... Just as the guy was about to force himself onto Khushi, the police had arrived since they heard the gunshot and Khushi screaming. They pulled off the guy and arrested him and his men and when they turned to Khushi, they saw that she had fainted."

Arnav wiped his tears away. "What happened afterwards?"

"The cops told us and we all rushed to the hospital. They put Khushi in the ICU and figured out what happened. Due to trauma, she had fainted. Medical reports showed that Khushi was clean and that the guy didn't get a chance to do anything, though he did manage to hurt and bruise her."

"And Kaka and Kaki?"

"They were declared dead. Nothing could be done for them. Buaji went into shock and had a heart attack on the spot.... Unfortunately, she couldn't be saved either...."

Arnav pursed his lips.

"When Khushi finally came around, she was going crazy to see Kaka and Kaki.... Ma saw how she was acting crazy and unable to take it, she told her that they were dead and that she would never see them again. Khushi didn't believe it and she ran out of the room and found Kaka and Kaki's bodies down the hall where the cops were talking to the doctor. Khushi saw a third a body and when she revealed Bauji's face, she screamed out really loud.... She fainted on the spot."

Avantika sighed. "After that, Khushi stopped talking. She just wouldn't speak. We all tried so hard to get her to talk, but she wouldn't budge. The doctor said that it was due to trauma and depression,  and that her vocal were fine. Khushi chose to stop talking after that day. For a long time, Khushi was distant and she barely smiled. All she did was work around that house, and that was it. She was gloomier than ever! Ma, Papa, and Nani showered her with love, and we told her that we were her family before, then, and forever. That we were her parents, grandparent, and siblings. But that didn't make Khushi budge."

"Then how did she?"

"Ma was the most desperate for wanting her to speak again. She was going crazy and she began to fall sick. Worried for her, Khushi tended to her all day and all night. In the end, Ma got better and she finally managed to make Khushi smile.

"After that, Ma decided to take things slow. Through the years, Khushi began to smile again and she formed a way of communication with us. And if anything, she could always write it down for us, like she did with the police report.... But even though it's been three years, she still can't get over that day."

Arnav sighed and sat down beside Avantika. "All of this stuff happened... why didn't anyone tell me," he asked angrily.

"Because Khushi didn't let us."

Arnav looked at her. "What?"

"She wrote down that she didn't want anyone to tell you anything. We all begged her to reconsider, but she wouldn't budge. Taking her wishes into respect, no one ever told you anything."

Arnav shot up. "What the f-? Why?! I would've came home! I would've made sure those criminals paid for their actions! I would've made sure they were punished! I would have-"

"You would've left and would've come straight back home."

Arnav looked at her.

"Which is why Khushi probably didn't want us to tell you."

Arnav looked away.

Avantika stood up and placed her hand on her brother's shoulder. "What's done is done Bhai. Now we can only hope that Khushi recovers and will someday talk again."

Patting his shoulder once more, Avantika turned and left. Arnav stood there alone, processing the information in his head.

I can't believe all of that happened while I was gone! And Khushi didn't let me know anything? Why?! Why didn't she want me to know? Why didn't she want me to know about what happened to Buaji? Why didn't she want me to know about what happened to Kaka and Kaki? And above all, why didn't she want me to know about what happened to her?

Arnav shut his eyes.

Doesn't she care about me the way I care for her?

Arnav felt his heart beat.

Dhak-dhak! Dhak-dhak!

Dhak-dhak! Dhak-dhak! 

Why Khushi? Why, and another tear escaped and fell down his cheek.

Arnav shut his eyes and his mind played a vision of Khushi in his designed choli. The second he had gottem a full view of her in it, everyone else in the room had vanished. All he could see was her and he could hear his heart thump in his ears. At the moment, he thought he was being crazy, but looking at Khushi, he thought nothing more than how that choli was perfect for her.

Arnav opened his eyes and went over to his nightstand. He pulled the drawer open and took out his diary. Opening it to the first page, he gazed away at Khushi.

Do I mean nothing to you Khushi?